Friends of City Park
Friends of City Park is a regional, non-profit organization whose mission is to maintain and increase the value and importance of City Park as a place of natural beauty, culture, recreation and education for the public. All monies raised by Friends of City Park will be used for the capital needs of City Park at the discretion of the FOCP Executive Board.
At 1,300 acres, New Orleans City Park is one of the largest and most beautiful urban parks in the country. The park houses the largest collection of live oaks in the world and acres of wildlife and community attractions, including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New Orleans Botanical Gardens, the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and more. Annually, City Park must raise 89% of its operating budget which leaves little to no resources for park capital improvements. Friends of City Park is vital and important to the Park’s growth. Over the years, Friends has given millions of dollars to City Park for capital improvements.
In the 1970s, lack of local and state funding sent the Park into a state of disrepair. Vice president of City Park’s Board of Commissioners, J. Barbee Winston teamed up with the dynamic Mrs. Henry J. “Peggy” Read to organize the first fundraising organization for the park. Mrs. Read recruited volunteers, drafted a charter and bylaws, and at the urging of the Board of Commissioners President, Waldemar S. Nelson, Friends of City Park was born in 1979. Mr. Nelson selected Mrs. Read as the organization’s first president.
Friends of City Park sustains its efforts from its robust membership program that offers benefits to Friends’ members. The three major fundraisers are Lark in the Park, our premier fundraiser; Martini Madness, our wildly popular martini tasting; and Ghosts in the Oaks, our spooktacular family bizarre! The efforts of Friends of City Park sparked a catalyst for change and improvement and started a rebirth of City Park.
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